Automatic firearm



Feb. 11, 1930. SCHULER 7 1,746,364

AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed NOV. 28, 1928 e b 4 1 A INVENTUR:

Herman Jziujer U ,ATT ER N 9/.

Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UN RTE STATEg @FFEQE WAAREN- TJ'ND MASCHINENFABRIK, OF DU$SELDOB'F'DERENDORF, GERIVIANY AUTOMATIC FIREARM Application filed November (58, 1928, Serial No. 322,514, and in Germany May 31, 1928.

My invention relates to a tripod carriage for automatic fire arms. The object of the invention is to provide a carriage of a construction which, with out unduly increasing the weight of the carriage, is adapted to carry an automatic fire arm in such a manner, that the same may quickly and easily be adjusted in any firing position occurring during use in the field, low andhigh firing adapted to the territorial conditions. A further object of the present invention is to provide a carriage which assures a firm stand of the arm for all kinds of firing, i. e. for direct and indirect firing under low and under high angle, pointand spread-fire.

In the accompanying drawing a carnage according to the invention supporting an automatic fire arm is shown in a sectional side elevation.

The under carriage comprises the carriage head a. with the hinged supporting legs 6, 6 two of which are directed forward, while a third leg provided with a broad spade and an adjustable seat extends rearwardly. The supporting legs are individually adjustable on the carriage head a from a nearly vertical position to a horizontal stretched position 111 which the head a of the carriage rests upon the ground. The legs 6, b, may be fixed in any adjusted position by means of snap pins adapted to engage with toothed sectors of the carriage head. Moreover, as shown in the drawing, the ends of the legs carrying the spades may, for the purpose of further altering the firing height, be telescoped out and fixed in the adjusted position by suitable clamping devices.

The upper part of the carriage head is formed as a concave spherical seat in which, by means of a convex spherical seat, a plat form 0, the horizontal pointing circle plate, is arranged. This plate may be tilted in the carriage head about an angle of 10 in all directions and serves the purpose of horizontizing the upper carriage and the fire arm mounted thereupon. Lifting off of the plate 0 isprevented by a plate d arranged in the plate 0 and held by a bolt 6Z passing through the spherical seats. By turning a lever al screwed upon the lower end of the bolt al the pointing circle plate 0 together with the carriage head may be rigidly fixed. A ring 0 provided with a scale is arranged around the plate 0. This ring 0 carries claws gripping over the base plate of the upper carriage e. The upper carriage e is therefore with regard to the plate 0, pivotally arrangeupon a. vertical axis around a swinging angle of 360. To limit the angle of spread, the ring a, carries two adjustable stops c adapted to be fined in the adjusted position and against which a pointer fixed at the upper carriagemay bear. By means of a clamping device the swinging movement of the upper carriage may altogether be prevented, whereupon lateral displacement of the upper carriage is impossible.

The forwardly extending support 9, carrying the fire arm, is pivoted upon horizontal trunnions f at a point of the upper carriage e which lies above and behind the pointing circle plate 0. Connected to the support 9 is a rearwardly and downwardly extending toothed sector 9 with which engages a pinion c rotatable upon a shaft 6 in the upper carriage. Fined upon the shaft- 6 is a worm wheel 6, with which engages a worm c capable of being thrown out, a so called drop worm, which may be rotated by means of a hand wheel a Two adjustable stops e; of well known construction and adapted to be fixed to the shaft of the hand wheel o serve as limiting device for the low spreading to be given to the fire arm. v

The fire arm 7:, proper rests and is fixed in two bearings upon the support 9, the rear bearing of which is formed by the axis fof the trunnions. To obtain the connection, the fire arm is provided with two hook-shaped bearings the mouth openings of which are oppositely directed. By means of these hookshaped bearings the fire arm rests upon a bolt 9 at the front end of the fire arm support 9 and upon the axis 7 of thetrunnions. To allow bringing of the two hook-shaped bearings of the fire arm over the supporting bolts the trunnion axis f is rotatable by means of a handle and flattened at one side at the point of engagement of the rear hook of the fire arm. To mount the fire arm, the trunnion.

axis f is so rotated, that, after pushing the front hook of the fire arm upon the front supporting bolt 9 the rear end of the fire arm, lifted a little in the first instance, may

and capable of turning about an angle of 360 and horizontal trunnions provided at said upper carriage for swingably carrying said fire arm by said upper carriage, said now be lowered,whereby the rear hook-shaped trunnions being arranged above and so far bebearing passes along the flattened part of the trunnion axis. Then the trunnion axis is rotated, so that the solid part of same is moved into the hook-shaped bearing of the fire arm, whereupon the fire arm is rigidly fixed.

A compensation or balance spring, not shown in the drawing, which preferably is coiled around the shaft e serves to compensate or balance the swinging fire arm masses distributed at one side of the trunnions 7.

The carriage described above assures, on account of its compact and stable construction, an always firm stand and a universal use of the fire arm. The fire arm has a free horizontal pointing possibility of 360 and may, at horizontally positioned horizontal. pointing circle, fire at a low angle of 15 and at a high angle of 90. Moreover the fire arm may, if desired, be still further lowered by an inclination of the tripod head after the supporting legs have been adjusted correspondingly. The position of the trunnions for vertical pointing of the fire arm is so chosen that, notwithstanding the firing height adjusted by means of the tripod, the full horizontal movement of 360 and the vertical pointing up to 90 is always possible without parts of the fire arm, situated in rear of the trunnions, come into contact with parts of the carriage, even if the supporting legs are arranged nearly horizontally and the head of the tripod directly rests upon the ground; The horizontal pointing, if desired with adjusted angle'of spread, is effected in the usual manner by direct movement by fire arm for indirect firing.

hand, the vertical pointing and low spreading may be eifected, by means of the vertical pointing machine, over the whole range of the pointing angle, i. e. for firing at low angle and at high angle or particularly for firing uponquickly moving aims, as flying machines and tanks, by hand after the vertical pointing machine has been thrown out.

The possibility of the special horizontal adjustment of the horizontal pointing circle relatively to the carriage which is already capable of being roughly horizontally adjusted by the supporting legs, whereby the horizontal position of the pointing circle is indicated by a level system, perfectly adapts the For point firing allp'arts may be locked against movement.

What I claim is:

In an automatic fire arm mounted upon a tripod carriage having stretchable supporting legs for altering the firing height of the.

arm, a tripod head, a platform adapted to be levelled and fixed in said tripod head, an upper carriage journalled upon said platform 

